Scroll on the Toilet

I am sure you will not be surprised that I think smartphones are a scourge on humanity. I have thought so since they first came into the world.

I am so grateful that neither my husband nor I are phone addicts. Around 6pm when we finish work, we put them in to charge (his in his study and me in the kitchen) and rarely look at them until the next day. And when I say next day, I don't mean when we get up in the morning, I mean after we have had our workouts and showers, etc. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for our children. They are as addicted as anyone and it depresses me.

Why do I think smartphones suck so much? Well most of us know that if you are on social media, that there are lots of dangers, primarily to one's mental health. But there are lots of other activities people use there phones for that are problematic: video games, sports betting/gambling, porn, nonstop googling/doomscrolling, etc.

But it is not just that these activities all have risks involved, its that they interfere with people doing things that are good for their physical and mental health or just things that need to get done! Does no one else see the irony that the invention meant to supposedly make everything easier has actually made humans ridiculously inefficient? I will also add, they have normalized spending money needlessly and created an inability to delay immediate gratification (online shopping, Uber Eats, etc.).

The amount of time people spend sitting on their butts doing useless activities on their phone is appalling. The biggest excuse I get is that people are stressed and tired and it is their way to relax and unwind. But guess what, being on your phone is not relaxing, it is considered a cognitive stressor. This is one of the reasons I tell people NEVER to have their phones in bed with them (yes have a platonic relationship with your phone!). If you truly want to relax, read a book, listen to music, take a walk, talk to a loved one, or take a bath.

It is common place today for me to have clients who claim they have no time to sleep enough, prepare healthy meals or exercise. When we unpack their time usage, its usually clear that at least an hour or more of each day could be salvaged if they don't sit and play/scroll on their phone.

What I suggest to clients is that they try to minimize looking at their phone by only doing it when there is nothing else to really do (you are on the toilet, drying your hair, etc.). If you feel like being entertained, play music or a podcast and listen instead of watch. At least then you can accomplish something useful simultaneously (meal prep, clean your house, do laundry, go for a walk, exercise, etc.).

I can guarantee you a more fulfilling life if you stop wasting it on your phone. No one is going to be on their deathbed and say, "I wish I had scrolled more." Also, given how low a bar humanity has set at the present time for functioning. Achieving greatness could be as easy as just not spending time on your phone. Seriously, its not that hard. If you truly have an addiction (porn, video games, gambling), than this is a challenging thing to deal with so I encourage you to seek treatment. But if you are simply addicted to your phone or social media, than there is evidence that you can overcome it simply by abstaining for at least a month (get a flip phone!). I encourage you to read Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke. If you can really minimize your phone use, you can improve your physical and mental health and also not waste precious time that we do not have to waste on a useless activity that is unlikely to help you acheive many particularly meaningful goals.